Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode, which includes positive electrode mixture material containing positive electrode active material particles and conductive material, a negative electrode, which includes a negative electrode mixture material, and an electrolyte. The positive electrode active material particles include primary particles, a first particle aggregate of the primary particles cohered into a mass with a hollow portion having a diameter of less than 1 ?m, and a second particle aggregate of the primary particles cohered into a mass with a hollow portion having a diameter of 1 ?m or greater. When referring to the primary particles and the first particle aggregate as first particles, the first particles occupy 5% to 70% of the positive electrode active material particles. The positive electrode mixture material has a void percentage of 20% to 60%. The conductive material has an aspect ratio of 1:10 or greater.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a cell includes the steps of: preparing a housing portion having an opening; preparing a lid portion that includes a plate portion, a first external terminal located on the plate portion, and a second external terminal located on the plate portion at a position away from the first external terminal; placing the lid portion in the housing portion in such a manner that the plate portion closes the opening; placing a jig on an inter-terminal region of the plate portion that is located between the first external terminal and the second external terminal; and sealing the opening by joining the plate portion with the jig placed thereon and the housing portion together by welding.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing an electrode plate including a current collector and an active material layer includes preparing, forming, and pressing. In the preparing, a mixture is prepared by kneading an active material. In the forming, the active material layer is formed on the current collector by applying the mixture to the current collector. In the pressing, the active material layer is pressed so that active material layer has a predetermined thickness. The mixture applied to the current collector has a weight per unit area based on a specific surface area of the active material used in the mixture and a tapped density of the active material used in the mixture.

Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a roll formed by rolling a stack of a negative electrode plate, separator, and positive electrode plate in a rolling direction into a flattened form. A negative electrode collector portion formed at one roll end where the negative electrode mixture layer is not applied to two opposite surfaces of the negative electrode substrate layer has an undulated form. The negative electrode substrate layer has two opposite surfaces that are less the negative electrode mixture layer at the end of the roll. A positive electrode collector portion formed at the other roll end where the positive electrode mixture layer is not applied to two opposite surfaces of the positive electrode substrate layer has an undulated form. The positive electrode substrate layer has two opposite surfaces that are less the positive electrode mixture layer at the other roll end.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a rechargeable battery includes a simultaneous coating process for simultaneously coating an electrode substrate with one strip of a mixture paste and two strips of an insulation paste dispensed from a dispenser so that each widthwise end of the strip of the mixture paste is adjacent to a different strip of the insulation paste. The simultaneous coating process includes a gap adjustment process for changing a distance between the dispenser and the electrode substrate based on a coating width of the mixture paste, detected in the simultaneous coating process by an image inspection unit, so that the coating width of the mixture paste approaches a target value.

Abstract: An electrode body includes a substrate serving as a collector, a composite layer formed by applying a composite paste including an electrode active material to the substrate, and an insulation layer formed by applying an insulation paste including an insulative material to the substrate adjacent to the composite layer. The composite layer extends above and overlaps the insulation layer that covers a surface of the substrate in an interface region of the composite layer and the insulation layer. A mixed layer is formed between the insulation layer and the composite layer when the composite paste and the insulation paste mix in an overlapping range of the insulation layer and the composite layer. The mixed layer is formed in a range where the insulation layer covers the surface of the substrate.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a rechargeable battery includes forming a mixture layer and an insulating layer on an electrode substrate having an edge extending in a specified direction so that an exposed portion where the electrode substrate is exposed extends between the edge and the insulating layer; pressing the mixture layer; and stretching an extension portion, located between the edge and the mixture layer, and the insulating layer in the specified direction. The stretching includes applying a stress greater than or equal to yield stress of the electrode substrate or greater than or equal to 0.2% proof stress of the electrode substrate and less than tensile strength of the electrode substrate to the extension portion, and applying a stress greater than or equal to yield stress of the insulating layer or greater than or equal to 0.2% proof stress of the insulating layer to the insulating layer.

Abstract: An inspecting step includes a first period after a cooling step ends and a second period after the first period ends. Variations in a voltage drop value per unit time in a nonaqueous electrolyte rechargeable battery are smaller in the second period than in the first period. The cooling step cools the battery in a state where the electrode body is directly or indirectly pressurized and restrained in a thickness direction with a smaller pressure than that in the inspecting step or in a state where the electrode body is not restrained. The voltage value of the battery is measured when a specified time has passed after the voltage value of the battery was measured in the second period. The battery is determined as being normal when the voltage drop value per unit time based on the measured voltage value is less than or equal to a threshold value.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a positive plate of a rechargeable battery includes producing an insulation protective paste forming an insulation protective layer of the positive plate, the insulation protective paste including insulation particles, a binder, and a solvent and having a pH adjusted corresponding to a zeta potential at which the insulation particles do not aggregate, producing a positive composite material paste forming a positive composite material layer of the positive plate, the positive composite material paste including a positive active material, a conduction support, a binder, and a solvent, and a pH adjuster being added to the positive composite material paste to adjust a pH corresponding to a zeta potential at which the insulation particles aggregate, and simultaneously coating a positive current collector of the positive plate with the positive composite material paste and the insulation protective paste disposed adjacent to an end of the positive composite material paste.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte rechargeable battery includes a positive plate, a negative plate, a separator that insulates the positive plate from the negative plate, and a nonaqueous electrolytic solution. The positive plate includes a positive current collector, a positive composite layer disposed on a portion of a surface of the positive current collector and containing a positive active material particle, and an insulation protective layer disposed on another portion of the surface of the positive current collector adjacent to the positive composite layer and containing an insulation particle. The insulation protective layer has a smaller thickness than the positive composite layer. The insulation protective layer has a greater porosity than the positive composite layer.

Abstract: A battery stack includes cells that are arranged in a row and bound together. Each of the cells includes a case and an electrode body accommodated in the case. The cells include multiple types of position variation cells, in which positions of electrode bodies of the cells are different from each other when the cells are viewed in an arrangement direction of the cells.

Abstract: A lithium-ion rechargeable battery includes an electrode body rolled about a roll axis to be low-profile. In a cross section orthogonal to the roll axis, the electrode body includes a planar flat portion pressed to have a low profile and two semicircular rod-shaped bent portions bent and formed on opposite ends of the flat portion. Combined resistance of reaction resistance caused by an inter-electrode distance with solution resistance caused by air permeance of the separator in site, longitudinally extending from center to a peripheral surface of each bent portion, equals combined resistance of the reaction resistance with the solution resistance in site, extending from straight line to a peripheral surface of the flat portion in a thickness-wise direction, to obtain uniform resistance of the electrode body, thereby limiting deposition of lithium metal caused by non-uniform current density.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte rechargeable battery includes an electrode body, a nonaqueous electrolyte, and a rectangular box-shaped battery case accommodating the electrode body and the nonaqueous electrolyte. The electrode body includes a positive electrode including a positive base and a positive composite material layer, a negative electrode including a negative base and a negative composite material layer, and a porous resin separator disposed therebetween. The electrode body has a low profile when the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the separator are laminated and rolled. When spring constant of the nonaqueous electrolyte rechargeable battery with a load of 316 to 210 N/cm2 and 95 to 74 N/cm2 is respectively referred to as spring constant H and spring constant L, the ratio L/H is 0.34 or greater and 0.41 or less. A resistance increase rate between before and after a square wave test is less than or equal to 1.17.

Abstract: A secondary battery with a reduced degree of increase in internal pressure over time, is provided. In a preferred embodiment, a secondary battery including: an electrode body, a battery case, an electrode terminal, and a gasket sandwiched between the battery case and the electrode terminal is provided. The secondary battery is configured such ghat a parameter K calculated using the following equation (1): K=Wi/(VrGH2) (1) (where Wi represents an initial capacity (Ah) of the secondary battery, Yr represents a volume (cm3) of void in the battery case, and GH2, represents an H2 gas permeability coefficient (cm3·cm)/(cm2·s·cmHg) of the gasket at 60° C.) satisfies 0.43×108 or more to 0.59×108 or less.

Abstract: A spacer of a battery module includes a plurality of bars provided extending in a width direction of adjacent battery cells and arranged at an interval from each other, a first fin, and a second fin. The first fin of the battery module takes a shape extending upward from the bar toward one of the battery cells and contact a principal surface of the battery cell. The second fin takes a shape extending downward from the bar toward the other battery cell and contact a principal surface of the other battery cell. A fin length of the first fin and a fin length of the second fin are each smaller than the interval between the bars. The sum of those fin lengths is larger than the interval between the bars.

Abstract: A method is for replacing a rechargeable battery that is considered as an unsatisfactory rechargeable battery that needs replacing in an assembled battery in which rechargeable batteries are stacked and restrained in a row and electrically connected in series or in parallel. The method includes removing of finding at least one of the rechargeable batteries to be an unsatisfactory rechargeable battery in the assembled battery and removing the unsatisfactory rechargeable battery, and installing a satisfactory rechargeable battery, which has little deterioration, on at least one end of the row of the rechargeable batteries, in a row direction, in the assembled battery from which the unsatisfactory rechargeable battery has been removed.

Abstract: A battery pack includes a battery stack including a plurality of battery cells and a case member in which the battery stack is housed. The case member includes an end wall part located on one end of the battery stack in a stacking direction and continuously integrated with a floor part, and a mounting-shape part located on an opposite end from the end wall part and configured to mount a panel-shaped member. The battery stack is retained in the case member while being held by compression between the end wall part and the end panel on the other end. The end panel is pressed against the mounting-shape part in a direction away from the end wall part by compression reaction force of the battery stack, and fixed therein.

Abstract: A battery pack includes a battery stack including a plurality of battery cells and a case member in which the battery stack is housed. The case member includes an end wall part located on one end of the battery stack in a stacking direction and continuously integrated with a floor part, and a mounting-shape part located on an opposite end from the end wall part and configured to mount a panel-shaped member. The battery stack is retained in the case member while being held by compression between the end wall part and the end panel on the other end. The end panel is pressed against the mounting-shape part in a direction away from the end wall part by compression reaction force of the battery stack, and fixed therein.

Abstract: A method for determining a negative electrode capacity of a rechargeable battery is performed by a measurement device that includes a voltage detector that detects a voltage value of the rechargeable battery, a current detector that detects a current value of the rechargeable battery, and a state of charge detector that detects a state of charge of the rechargeable battery. The method includes calculating an absolute value of a voltage slope indicating a voltage change amount with respect to a discharge amount when the state of charge of the rechargeable battery is less than 40%, comparing the absolute value of the voltage slope with a preset lower limit, and determining that the negative electrode capacity of the rechargeable battery has decreased when the absolute value of the voltage slope is less than or equal to the lower limit.

Abstract: A cooling structure of a battery pack includes an assembled battery including stacked battery modules, an intake passage, and a discharge passage. Ventilation passages extend between adjacent ones of the battery modules. The intake passage extends in a stacking direction of the battery modules and includes an intake port to draw in cooling air from a blower. The discharge passage extends in the stacking direction and includes a discharge port at a first end to discharge the cooling air, which flows through the ventilation passages, to the outside. The first end of the discharge passage and the intake port of the intake passage are located at the same side. The discharge passage is defined by a wall that includes a communication portion disposed at a position toward a second end of the discharge passage opposite to the first end to partially discharge air from the exhaust passage.